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Faculty concerned about a student and not sure where to turn may also contact or refer undergraduate students directly to their school's academic advising office. These offices can help students having academic or personal difficulties and connect them with additional support.

If you are with a student in crisis or immediate danger, you can call Public Safety's HELP Line, designed to provide rapid support around wellness, at 215-898-4357 or consult with this flowchart on helping students in need.

Academic Advising Contacts for Undergraduates

For graduate students, contact the graduate dean or student affairs office for their school.  This page from University Life can help you find the right office.

General Support Services

Course Action Notices

Instructors can use this function in Courses@Penn (among the tools in the Manage My Courses section) to send a notice to a student having difficulty in their class. These notices also go to the appropriate advising office so advisors are aware if a student is having trouble across courses and needs support.

Courses@Penn

Counseling Services

Students with concerns of a personal, emotional, social, or educational nature may visit CAPS for help and guidance free of charge. CAPS will also consult with faculty and TAs (within the limits of a students' privacy) on students for whom they are concerned.

Counseling Services

Academic Support and Disability Services

Weingarten Center: focused on academic support and disability services. They provide:

  • Learning consultations which focus on academic skills and strategies such as test taking to time management.
  • Academic Tutoring which give students subject-specific peer tutoring services to supplement support from faculty, TAs, and instructors.
  • Disability Services which ensure equal access to all Penn programs to students with documented disabilities.

NOTE: should you receive a letter from Disability Services about an accommodation you should support that student as much as you can. However, if you think the accommodations will fundamentally alter the student's ability to learn in your class, reach out to Disability Services (267.788.0030) for a conversation about how best to support your student in your class.

Technology

Weigle Information Commons: Offers students tutoring in use of digital media as well as technology rich group study rooms. Weigle can also provide customized programs for your classes.

Canvas at Penn: Provides documentation about how to use Canvas for students and lists workshops for students who aren't sure what to do.

Research

Research Guides By Topic: Lists useful tools and databases by subject and has links to subject specific librarians.

Research Tutorials: Provides a series of short videos that show students the steps of the research process.

 Consult with a Reference Librarian: Subject-matter specialist librarians can consult with students at any stage of the research process.

Writing, Language and Communication

Marks Family Writing Center : Provides expert help in writing for undergraduate and graduate students.

Communication Within the Curriculum: Helps students express themselves orally with clarity and confidence.

Language Direct: Provides tutoring for foreign languages.